Garden Building Overview

These days garden buildings come in all shapes, sizes and increasingly diverse materials. Although garden sheds are still the first type of garden building that many people think of, there is an extensive range of buildings and a myriad of uses they can be put to. These range from the traditional garden shed, to a large log cabin that can be used as a summerhouse or increasingly these days, as a garden office, home gym or spa.

Garden buildings, and their uses, are becoming increasingly diverse. We are all aware of the conventional garden shed that has traditionally been used for storing garden furniture, garden tools and bicycles. They are often used as a haven for gardeners who use them as a tool store and potting shed. Garden sheds are now also available in metal which is secure and robust, and plastic that is incredibly durable with none of the material degradation that can occur with either wood or metal products.

Greenhouses are another traditional garden building that have been an integral part of British life for years. For the dedicated gardening enthusiast these glazed garden structures are invaluable; they are often used for planting seeds and propagating plants that would never survive a British winter, and what greenhouse would be complete in late summer without home grown tomatoes. Although traditionally made from wood with glass roof and side panels; it is now more common for the frame to be made from lightweight aluminium with the glazed panels made from polycarbonate for lighter weight, increased safety and greater thermal conductivity.

Garden buildings are becoming increasingly specialised in their use. With dedicated garden storage catering for traditional storage needs, and the more unusual demands such as a dedicated motorcycle store. Particularly useful are the small plastic storage boxes which prove ideal for small items in the garden or children's toys. Metal stores are not only safe and secure, they often have a far lower profile than a conventional shed. This makes them far more convenient than a shed as they are less visually intrusive and take up less space than a conventional shed.

Dedicated workshops usually have double-doors and more windows than you would expect to find in a conventional garden shed. Workshops are designed specifically as a space in which to work; setting them apart from many other garden buildings. They are often light and airy, with more space and a higher roofline than a conventional garden shed with more space for workbenches, tools and a larger area in which to work.

With longer and warmer summers, summerhouses are becoming increasingly popular as an outdoor space that all the family can enjoy. These can either be open structures that allow you to enjoy lazy summer days or with glazed doors and windows that let in lots of light, while still offering protection from more inclement weather.

Without a doubt the most diverse and versatile of garden buildings is the log cabin: they range in size from seven feet by five feet up to an extraordinary 16 square feet. The walls are available with timber thicknesses up to 95mm for added sound and thermal insulation and structural integrity. These truly versatile buildings are capable of fulfilling a vast array of outdoor spatial requirements, some of the most common being: a garden home office, a superb working environment that does not impinge upon your indoor space. A log cabin is also the ideal setting for a garden gym, affording you the opportunity to exercise in the relaxed surroundings of your own garden. Or why not indulge yourself and set up your very own all-weather spa in the heart of your garden.

In summary, garden buildings are moving away from the traditional garden shed and there are now far more specialised buildings to fulfil your outdoor storage and accommodation needs. Garden sheds are still the mainstay of many gardens, and greenhouses are as popular and useful as ever. Specialist garden storage solutions are available in a variety of sizes and colours that are ideal for storing garden tools, garden furniture, children's toys and even a motorcycle. Summerhouses help you make the most of your outdoor space and log cabins are currently one of the most versatile garden buildings you can buy. They are increasingly popular as garden offices, home gyms and even a truly indulgent garden spa.

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About Peter Farmer:
Peter Farmer is a landscape gardener from the Nottinghamshire area of England. He specialises in garden buildings and works closely with his Garden Sheds (www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk) and Barbecues (www.flamingbarbecues.co.uk) partner sites to create quality web content.

Landscape Lighting Magic In Your Garden.

Though there are a few exceptions outdoor lighting ordinarily needs not to be about the lights themselves but instead about the outcome. The lights can be manipulated via mechanical timers located inside the housing of the outside transformer.

Landscape lighting is totally about prettifying all that is natural or man-made in the outside surroundings adding a beautiful and spectacular element to a home's nighttime appearance. The right exterior lighting can be both functional and beautiful. Lighting showers your dwelling and yard in a comforting glow, promoting your property's appeal.

Out-of-door lighting is ordinarily advisable, but specially about water features, which present a specific danger after dark and is ideal for highlighting paths. Outside lighting is a simple improvement that ought to make a big difference in the safety not to mention the security of your home also the visual appearance after dark and is safer to operate than normal mains lighting. As an accessory outside lighting is as functional as it is cosmetic, bettering the safety and security of your household, as the home owner and family members are able to move about their property in safely after sunset. Quite popular nowadays are low-voltage outdoor lighting designs. These systems normally come complete with a step-down transformer. For lighting systems in built up areas, low-voltage systems is used for outdoor lighting. Outside lighting is used to bring bushes and plants to life after dark, feature focal areas around your household, illuminate drives and stairs for safety and security. And of course it is a terrific way to heighten the value of your household and to add and safety after dark.

One drawback with solar outdoor lighting is that you may not feel it is very effective beause they produce very little light and get dimmer as the battery runs out. Nonetheless most solar lighting can be as bright as traditional low-voltage. This outside lighting option has been increasing in popularity the past few years. However, the PV panel utilised to charge the battery must be in an area where it will receive a lot of direct sunlight. It is a quick easy option that can brighten up your yard decor or landscape. Now that manufacturing systems have improved and costs are falling , solar lighting has become the hottest segment in the horticultural industry. Solar landscape lighting supplies many alternatives for you to include into your gardening project including pathway, driveway lights, accent lights, lanterns, fountains, and spotlights. Solar landscape lighting can be supplied in a assortment of styles from a variety of manufacturers offering solar exterior decor that fit your style. One common complaint is that they frequently only give off a low light that illuminates a relatively small area. An added benefit of solar outside lighting is that it is childs play to instal, and the installer wouldn't have to dig under their walkway to run wires. Landscape lighting is the perfect product for solar powered, wireless style lights.That said ,they must be placed in an area, which enjoys a lot of sunlight during the day time. Solar powered lighting systems are not wired to anything nor do they use any transformers.

The preparation of footings for light fixtures, setting up of fixtures, or setting up of empty conduit for future landscape lighting are projects that must be well thought out ahead of setting up your outside lighting. In the natural landscape, the majority of lighting, generally, is provided by the sun, modulated by clouds and reduced by vegetation. Light, or its absence can dramatically change the visual effect of your gardening projects. Try playing with your timing and using a variety of set-ups to alter the atmosphere over the evening eg set for evening, not too dark, and with a reddish orange ambiance. There are many choices for exterior lighting from which you can pick out.

Sustainable Living Articles @ http://www.articlegarden.com

About Dave Kearsley:
Wiring Low Voltage Landscape Lighting - Mr. Kearsley works with several web sites and resides in Britain. www.landscapelightingnet.info

Growing the Greatest Flowers Around

Most every gardener strives to grow the best, most stunning flowers around, but that goal is hard to get hold of. Whether you want to raise prize-winning blooms or just have a home garden filled with of beautiful flowers, there are some things you can do in order to ensure your garden is in the best shape possible.

Soil chemistry counts
The chemical make-up of the soil is one of the biggest factors that contribute to the success or failure of your garden. If the soil in your planting beds is poor in nutrients, it is unlikely that your plants will thrive or produce those beautiful flowers that you want until you enrich the soil with the nutrition the plants need.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the soil chemistry is the same all over your yard. It is important to test the soil in each area of your property that you plan to plants, especially if the areas are away from each other. This can be important if part of your property is on a slope, or if it has been used for other things in the past.

The slope of the land and the soil type in your area are important considerations to make. A complete analysis of the soil in your yard will give you a good place to starts and a help you to monitor the quality of the soil as your garden matures.

Know what your plants will need to thrive
You probably already have an idea about what you want to plant in your garden, so it is important that you understand what those plants will require in order to grow and flourish. Although many types of annuals, perennials, and bulbs can grow and thrive in a broad range of soil and weather conditions, others can have special requirements for food, water, and soil conditions.

For example, if you are interested I n cultivating roses in your garden, you will need to know the pH level of your soil, and adjust it if you need to. Roses are commonly acid loving plants, and therefore they will not thrive in soil with a higher alkaline level. Getting some humus and tilling it into the soil can amend alkaline soil. If the humus does not do the job, adding sulfur to the soil can raise the acidity level.

Keeping an eye on nutrition
The nutrients in the soil will dictate the health and vitality of your plants and flowers. If the phosphorus and nitrogen levels, as well as the presence of other types of organic matter are not sufficient, your plants may be malnourished, and not thrive at all. Nutrients can be added to poor soil by suing humus or any number of good-quality fertilizers.

Now you understand why the chemistry of your garden soil is so important in growing your ideal garden. Having the best flowers around is a big task to fulfill. Make sure that your garden soil is ready for the duty.

Sustainable Living Articles @ http://www.articlegarden.com

About Ken Snowie:
To learn more about flower gardening and receive a free flower gardening report visit www.discover-flower-gardening.info">

Exotic Flowers: Luxurious and Impressive for Your Home and Garden Decor

There are several types of exotic flowers to best suit any occasion. And of course, depending on your personal taste, you will want to choose the best exotic flowers you can obtain to be the perfect flowers, the most adequate for the purpose they will be serving. For example: at someone’s funeral, you may want to choose bouquet of flowers that the deceased would have loved. Here are some other examples (after all, these flowers are for happy occasions as well as the more tragic ones.

Musas:

The Chinese Musa flower is a stunning example of the kinds of exotic flowers that are perfect for gardens or bouquets.

Calatheas:

The exotic flower called the Genus Calathea is in the Marantaceae family of plowers, however it differs from other genera. The Marantaceae family of exotic flowers, in which Maranta and Ctenanthe are included, are unbranched inflorescences cone-like clusters.

The calathea comes from tropical South America, Calathea, it has about three hundred different species. These flowers love the shade and humidity, they are virtually all grown in much of the world only indoors. These flowers require full shade from the sun. However, if they must, they can handle a small amount of morning sun. These exotic flowers need their soil to be moist but well-drained soil, the use of a fertilizer is recommended.

When, on the rare occasion that these exotic flowers are grown outside—you must be sure that they are healthy, they must be free from all pests and diseases. Some of calathea will die midwinter, but will return again midsummer.

Cymbidiums:

Cymbidiums contain approximately forty-four species they are found in the tropics of the old world. The elegant, large flowered types of cymbidiums come from the higher regions of the Himalayas, and they must be kept in cool conditions in order to bloom well.

Dendrobiums:

Dendrobiums actually have about one thousand different species in their enormous family, they have countess hybrids as well. However, there are many varied growing conditions for this type of exotic flower. It is recommended that one establish from where in the world, and at what altitude their plant is accustom to, in order to determine how to best take care of the plant.

Miltonias:

Miltonias are referred to as the Pansy Orchid sometimes. There are approximately ten different kinds of species, and miltonias are found primarily in Brazil, therefore they are warm-weather flowers, and there are many hybrids with wonderful fragrance, because the militona is such a fragrant flower to begin with. These flowers will add a wonderful sensory ambiance to their surroundings, because in addition to their scent they are extremely pleasing to the eye.

Odontoglossums:

Odontoglossums also have a wide range of species, approximately 0ne hundred and seventy-five. These exotic flowers originated in the mountains of South America, as well as in higher altitudes and are used to wet clouded forests. Thus these wonderful flowers must be tended to under cool conditions, many hybrids exist as well, so there are many types to choose from.

Oncidiums:

These are among the most popular exotic flowers and there are approximately six hundred different species in existence. They come from the tropics of the Americas, and few of them even grow in high altitudes, these also must be supervised under cooler conditions. Fortunately, the hybrids are more tolerant than the species, you will find that this is true for most plants.

Paphiopedilums:

Paphiopedilums, the root word being Paphinia—who was the greek Goddess that the Romans later named Venus. Around sixty species exist, coming from Asia India and New Guinea. There are species with mottled leaved which need to be kept in warm conditions. And the paphiopedilums that are plain leaved and single flowered require intermediate/cool conditions, and plain leaved multiflowered species have to have warm environments to survive.

Phalaenopsis:

Phalaenopsis, or the exotic flower that is often called the Moth Orchid comes from Java and the South Seas, the Phillipines and Queensland Australia. Therefore, they are definitely warm weather growers, and they do prefer to be in the shade. Phalaenopsis would make the perfect houseplant, they are very free flowering and also make great gifts.

Vandas:

Vandas have approximately fifty species. Several hybrids have been derived from the tropics, Asia, and the orient—as far down as Australia. These hybrids require a warm environment that includes plenty of bright light. Many people hang them in their homes or gardens from wooden baskets.

Water Gardening:

Water Lilies and Lotuses are a beautiful touch to your pond, or waterfall etc. Major cultivars of water lilies and lotuses—almost all of which are hybridizers—explore the best landscapes in which to grow these exotic flowers.

Nymphaea and Nelumbo:

The genera Nymphaea and Nelumbo are beautiful species of exotic flowers, other genera in the waterlily family include Nuphar, Victoria, Euryale, Barclaya

Draecena:

Draecena (otherwise known as the dragon’s tree) is an exotic flower that neither requires regular watering, nor does it need much light at all. It’s a symbol of power and prosperity. These flowers may live up to one thousand years. A perfect gift for yourself or a friend or family member who does not have that much time for gardening, but would love to have a beautiful garden, however small, and something elegant and exotic to pass on for generations to come.

Anyone can add a striking touch of color to their home, or even the office with the elegant of wild exotic flowers. Exotic plants and flowers add a beautiful touch to any garden, home, patio or yard, as well as weddings, celebrations, banquets, and more solemn occasions.

Sustainable Living Articles @ http://www.articlegarden.com

About Smith Chen:
Smith Chen is an author and internet marketing consultant.
Find more about Hot Group Online and review page garden

Say it with Flowers

Flowers have become universal symbols of emotions. Whenever there is a special occasion, people buy flowers to celebrate or to let someone know that they are special. People, especially men, say with flowers what they cannot say with their lips.

Flowers have become universal symbols of emotions. Whenever there is a special occasion, people buy flowers to celebrate or to let someone know that they are special. People, especially men, say with flowers what they cannot say with their lips.

Unbeknownst to many, the kind of flowers that you give to actually have meaning. Your Valentine’s gift for instance of red roses conveyed the message right for it means ‘I love you.’ Other flowers convey different meanings. Here are some of the more popular ones and messages that each kind gives. Read on and find out what to give your loved one the next time you buy a bouquet.

Acacia (Yellow) – Secret Love

Amaryllis – describes the perfect woman, beautiful, timid and proud

Ambrosia – means love being returned

Basil – be careful when giving this flower as it conveys hatred

Bluebell – as it means humility, bluebells is a wonderful gift when saying sorry

Buttercup - conveys riches, not only of material things but of emotions

Camellia – means perfect loveliness and gratitude, which would be a wonderful thank you gift. Red camellia expresses excellence while the pink variety means extraordinary loveliness

Carnation – means pure, deep love. The red ones expresses passion, the white ones, sweetness and good luck and the pink one, being always on the mind

Chrysanthemum – this has quite a range of meanings depending on the color. White represents truth while red conveys love. Yellow Chrysanthemums have a negative meaning, slighted love.

Cornflower – represents delicacy

Daffodil – means respect for a person and hope

Dahlia – represents elegance and dignity

Daisy – this yellow flower symbolizes loyal love and innocence

Daphne – represents fame and glory

Edelweiss – signifies daring noble courage

Fern – conveys fascination and sincerity

Forget-me-not – quite literally means do not forget me. It also signifies faithful love and good memories

Gardenia - represents refinement of actions

Hawthorn – conveys hope

Holly – a great gift for wives and even husbands as the flower represents domestic happiness

Honeysuckle – signifies happiness

Hyacinth – When you want to say sorry, send this as it means “forgive me”

Honeysuckle – another type of flower that conveys generous and devoted affection and happiness with a person.

Ivy – means lasting fidelity, fidelity and even marriage

Iris – wisdom, faith and hope

Jasmine – tells the person that you are giving them to that she has grace and elegance. White Jasmine represents amiability

Jonquil – If you return the affection, send this kind of flower

Lavender – conveys constancy

Lilac – the white variety represents youthful innocence while the purple one signifies first love

Lily of the Valley – symbolizes beauty, gaiety, and happiness

Magnolia – represents nobility of spirit

Marigold – has negative meanings: grief and discontent

Mistletoe – perhaps the reason why mistletoes are quite notorious during Christmas as it means “kiss me”

Morning Glory – represents leaving or departure with affection

Orange Blossom – which is often used in wedding bouquets, symbolizes chastity and eternal Love

Orchid – collectively, orchids represent magnificence, love, beauty, and refinement

Pansies – means consideration

Periwinkle – Blue periwinkle means early friendship while the white one represents harmony

Poppy – this really popular flower have different meanings for its different colors. The oriental one means silence while the red represents consolation. The white symbolizes tranquility and Consolation while the yellow represents wealth and success.

Primrose – though quite beautiful, primroses have negative meanings. Generally, it conveys the message “I cannot be with you.” The evening primrose represents inconstancy.

Rose – though rose will generally mean “I Love You,” each color conveys a meaning. White, for instance, expresses purity and innocence, yellow, friendship, pink happiness and red, love and passion. Even rosebuds have meaning, innocence and purity.

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About the Author

Fred Smith makes it easy to find the flowers that suits your needs, quickly & easily. Learn the essential keys to flowers at flower boxes website, or take a look at the bouquets website?

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Fall Bulbs for Spring Blooms

Fall bulbs are, naturally, planted in the fall and flower in the spring. Many believe that they should be planted in the early spring, believing that the winter frosts can harm them. In fact nothing could be farther from the truth.

Bulbs, corms and rhizomes are all classed as bulbs for the purposes of fall planting. Fall bulbs need the cold of winter earth to prompt them to start growing and form a healthy root system, and a newly planted bulb will remain dormant until the ground temperature reaches 5 – 10 Celsius (40 – 50F). If you have an early fall frost and a mild winter, you will find bulbs starting to peek above the ground in January rather than March, and if your winter is mild, your bulbs will grow, but the roots will not be strong. The bigger the bulb, the more important a frost for their root system.

The cold of winter is essential for them. That is something to keep in mind when considering planting time, and with global warming sometimes causing mild falls, you might want to plant your bulbs later in the season – around November or December. Whatever you plan to do, you should make up your mind early exactly what you want to plant.

You have a very wide choice of plants and colors. You can get most colors from bulbs these days thanks to the wonders of hybridization, and there is no reason why your spring garden should not be a riot of yellows, reds, pinks, blues and purples. Add to that the snowy white of snowdrops and your garden should look great. However, keep in mind that not all of the different plants bloom at the same time, so choose carefully if you have planned a garden around that.

Possibilities are the snowdrops already mentioned that look fabulous when grown in large clumps, and then crocuses, lilies, tulips, daffodils and other narcissi, hyacinths and alliums. There are also irises and many others, most of which are available in a multitude of different colors. Towards the end of summer the garden stores will be full of them, and also the general stores, outdoor centers and even department stores. You will find pages and pages of sites online, and if you Google ‘fall bulbs' you will have so much choice you will likely never want to stop looking!

Many gardeners like to color theme their gardens using fall bulbs, or to layer them with the smaller plants at the front and larger at the back. That is when you should check the estimated flowering times since you don't want the yellows coming out in March but the reds leaving it till June! The same with the sized planting: you could have a big bare patch in your garden while the middle sized bulbs leave it till May to flower. All of this information should be on the pack, but if not you can get the information online for your specific bulb.

The bulbs should be planted when the soil temperature drops to at least 10 Celsius (50F), and should be two bulb thicknesses deep. Make sure you plant them the right way up! They like a well drained soil that holds moisture, and if you add a thickness of compost below the bulb by digging the hole a bit deeper, this will provide the needed drainage, moisture and nutrition required for the first year's growth.

Old bulbs should be fed with a top dressing of a good bulb fertilizer, and clumps separated every now and again to promote more vigorous growth. Bulbs like a sunny spot in the garden, where they are exposed to about 5 – 6 hours of light daily. Under a tree or beside a wall that shades them from the sun are not suitable, and growth will be slow. Once they have been planted you just leave them and they will look after themselves. The fall bulbs don't mind frost and snow, unlike summer planting bulbs that should be lifted over the winter.

Anybody who would like a nice show of blooms in the spring should plant fall bulbs. You can design your spring garden in any way you want so long as you are acquainted with the bulbs, corms or rhizomes that you are planting. They are easy to look after, and are the ideal solution for the amateur gardener that wants to impress the neighbors in March.

Sustainable Living Articles @ http://www.articlegarden.com

About Colin Clifford:
Want to find top qualitity Fall Bulbs for your garden then visit www.mygardencenteronline.com . Where you will find a full range of Allium, Anemone, Crocus, Daffodil, Hyacinth, Tulips and alot more other types of fall bulbs.

Taking Care of Perennials in Your Garden

For a very long time, perennials have been one of the more popular varieties of flowering plants. One of the biggest advantages of planting perennials in your garden is that they come back every year. Perennials are popular with both beginning gardeners and experienced gardeners because of the rewards reaped for planting them and being able to have beautiful flowers for multiple seasons.

Another benefit of planting perennials is that they are often easy plants to maintain. Usually perennials are quite easy to care for, and don’t require too much extra maintenance, usually just some good quality soil, adequate water and plenty of sunshine. They do have some issues that you should be aware of, one of the most serious being that they are more apt to get plagued by insect and disease than annuals, which only live for one season. Because perennials remain planted in the ground and come back year after year means that they are prime targets for various types of problems, even in fall or winter.

In order to prevent disease or infestation, it is best to buy the healthiest looking plants that you can find. Pay close attention to the plants you buy at the nursery or home center, and do not buy any that show visible signs of disease, fungus, or insect infestation. Healthy plants are stronger plants, and therefore are better able to withstand any bacteria that might be in the soil. A healthy plant will be able to fungi or bacteria that would likely kill off a weaker one.

If you can find them, look for disease-resistant varieties of perennial plants. They have been specially bred for resistance to diseases and insects. Through the process of selective breeding, perennial plant breeders have worked hard choose certain plant varieties that able to survive many common garden problems.

Once you plant your perennials, check them daily for any signs of disease of insect infestation. The ideal time to do this is when you are performing your normal plant maintenance, such as weeding or watering them. Make it part of your general plant maintenance routine. Look for plants with wilted leaves, holes or chew marks on the leaves, dark areas on the leaves or flowers, or chew marks or cut marks on the stems. If you notice any problems, use a gardening manual consult a more experienced gardener to figure out the problem. If you diagnose the problem quickly and accurately, you have a better chance of saving the plant.

The method that you use to water your perennials can affect whether they become diseased. Watering from overhead, such as with sprinklers, promotes the water to pool up on the leaves, which can encourage mold or bacteria to spread among the plants. It is preferred that you water at the root, either through drip irrigation or a garden hose. Not only will this keep water from pooling up on the leaves and flowers, but it the water will reach the roots more quickly, where it really needs to be.

Good care for your perennials is not over at the end of the growing season. It is important to continue to care for your plants even after they have stopped flowering. Make sure you prune your perennial plants according to the specifications for the particular variety. While some varieties of perennials need to be trimmed back drastically, others need very little pruning or none at all. It is vital to heed the needs of each of the types of perennials in your garden.

Sustainable Living Articles @ http://www.articlegarden.com

About Ken Snowie:
To learn more about flower gardeningand get a free gardening report visit www.greatflowergardening.info

Cultivating Beauty: Rose Gardening

Roses have received a reputation of requiring high maintenance and being difficult to grow. It is a shame because they are one of the most beautiful and distinctive flowers. But, with a little knowledge how and tender love and care, raising roses can createa fragrant and beautiful mainstay to your gardens. As a result of the efforts of many hortaculturists, modern hybrids and hardy varieties make rose gardening simpler and more rewarding than ever.

One can find roses in colors from white to almost black, and every shade in between. Along with the vast variety of colors, rose plants can be found with a different growing habits and degrees of hardiness. One can find roses that vary from a low growing shrub to elegant climbings. One of the most enjoyable experiences of rose gardening is being able to choose the varietie and color to plant. One type of rose that is becoming very popular is the antique. These can be found at many rose emporiums and have been nurtured from cuttings taken from old cemetaries.

Planting

To create a successful rose garden, one must choose the a good location for planting. Roses like full sun with well-drained soil to thrive. the prefered condition is rich soil containing plenty of organic matter. But roses are very hardy and can tolerate most soil types. To make sure your rose plants are placed in the ground as soon as possible, prepare your rose bed before purchasing your plants.

You have two options when you purchase your rose plants: bare root and potted. The least expensive of the two are bare root roses because they are packaged and shipped in their dormant state. But, if you want a quick start to your rose garden, you will probably want to purchase potted roses. As they take root and bloom more quickly, potted roses are a good choice for beginning rose gardeners.

After the bed has been prepared and the plants purchased, it is time to begin planting. To make sure you rose has the best chance of quality growth, the hole must be prepared properly. It should be large enough to contain the entire root system of the rose. This means that is should be deep enough to cover the root ball to the crown.

Pruning and Care

To maintain the health of your plant, rose gardening involves some ongoing upkeep. To encourage growth and maintain health, roses should be pruned in both spring and fall. If done properly, pruning will cut out any dead or weak branches and remove twiggy, non-productive growth.

If you live in an area of cold or snowy winters, preparing your rose bushes for winter is an important part of rose gardening. To protect your rose bushs from winter chills, simply mound mulch around the base of each rose bush and secure it in place with a collar or cage.

Often known as the hobby of royalty, rose gardening has a long, rich history. It is being enjoyed by an increasing number of modern gardners because of the beauty and hardiness of the plants. To enjoy this beautiful hobby only a little knowledge, a patch of garden space and a love for beauty.

Sustainable Living Articles @ http://www.articlegarden.com

About Dave Owen:
Dave Owen is the owner of My Roses, where you can find the information to take care of the worlds most beautiful flowers...

Basic Gardening Tips for Beginners

You've decided to plant a garden but you need basic gardening tips for beginners, this is the place to be. Gardening has become a delightful hobby for people all over the world.

There are many rewards for the gardener, the visuals of his creation, the scent of the blooms, great fresh air and lots of exercise. Imagine a weekend spent in the yard with your feet up drinking in the spectacular gardens that you have created the fruits of your labor and love. If you are a beginner gardener, here are some basic gardening tips. No matter how much room you have, you can create a masterpiece garden.

The basic garden tips for beginners will help you create new gardens and make it a successful and joyful experience. In the beginning go slowly, start small but use your imagination. Choose a project that will not take a long time to complete. If it takes you weeks to finish a project you will get frustrated and start to hate the project you wanted to enjoy. Even if you have 75 or 100 square feet you will be amazed at how much you can plant.

If you are determined to have a larger project, then work in sections and turn your attention to one area at a time. This way as each section is finished you can enjoy that completed job. This will also build up your confidence as you go along making the next section not so daunting.

But for a beginner gardener a small scale garden is optimal. You are going to have to learn the basics of gardening, all about disease, the best way to control weeds and pests, the all important watering and when and how to fertilize. After your initial project you can enlarge the garden or plant one somewhere else in your yard with your new found confidence.

To cut down on the weeding of your garden, place mulch around the plants. This serves three purposes; it cuts down on weeding, as well as aiding in temperature control and water retention. Granted there are some gardeners that love to work the soil and weed the plants but it would be more rewarding to tending to the plants or just watching them grow. To maintain really healthy plants water for longer periods of time but less frequently. Do not let the plants dry out. Always water early in the morning so the plant leaves have time to dry out during the day which helps prevent fungal disease.

After planting, try to have your garden remain pesticide free. An especially good natural deterrent is as follows:

In a jar, combine 1 teaspoon dishwashing liquid and 1 cup vegetable oil. Shake vigorously. In an empty spray bottle, combine 2 teaspoons of this mixture and 1 cup water. Use at ten-day intervals (or more often if needed) to rid plants of whiteflies, mites, aphids, scales, and other pests.

These are the basic gardening tips for beginners. Remember, that you can create lovely gardens in containers which you can move around as you please. There are hundreds of different plant combinations and containers that you can use for a container garden. So, if you are an apartment or condo dweller, you can plant lovely gardens on your balcony or patio. The basic tip here is that container gardens will dry out much faster than the plants in the ground so be vigilant about checking them for moisture.

Happy Gardening And Good Luck!

Sustainable Living Articles @ http://www.articlegarden.com

About Mary Hanna:
Mary Hanna is an aspiring herbalist who lives in Central Florida. This allows her to grow gardens inside and outside year round. She has published other articles on Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at Gardening Landscaping Tips Gardening Outside and Herb Gardening

Life Cycle Of The Flower

Flowers, also called blooms or blossoms, is the reproductive organs of the plant. The basic function of a flower is to precipitate the blending of the male sperm with female ovum to produce seeds and propagate the species. The basic process starts with pollination, which in turn causes fertilization, and this leads to the formation of the seeds. There are various ways that a plant causes dispersal of it's seeds. It can spread it's seeds by wind or like the blackberry plant and spread it's seeds by use of birds and animals.

Seeds are the next generation, or offspring, and are the primary means by which a species ensures it's continuation. The production of many tiny flowers on a single plant is called inflorescence. Besides being the reproductive organs of flowering plants, flowers have been used by humans all across the world to beautify their surroundings and as a source of food.

Every flower has a specific design which helps the transfer of it's pollen in the most efficient way possible. Some types of flowers are self pollinated, such as various types of sativas, while others require pollination by insects. Plants, such as many types of mints or clover, attract and use bees, bats, birds, etc. to transfer pollen from one flower to another.

Most flowers have glands called nectaries on various parts that attract insects such as bees. Some flowers have patterns referred to as nectar guides, that help insects like butterflies where to look for the sweet nectar. Flowers can also draw pollinators to them by using scent and color. And some flowers use a clever mimicry to draw pollinators to them. Many types of orchids produce flowers that look like a female bee in their coloration, scent, and their shape to draw the male bees to them.

A huge array of flower species are also specialized in their particular shape to have an arrangement of the stamens to make sure that the pollen grains are transferred to the bodies of the insect when it lands looking for what attracted it in the first place. By the insect's constant pursuit of the pollen, nectar, etc. from many different flowers of the same species, the insect transfers pollen to the various stigmas of each flower with that single minded precision to all of the flowers it lands on.

There are many flowers that spread pollen from one flower to the next by the use of wind. Many of the examples that use this method include Birch trees, Ragweed, Dandelions, Milkweed, etc. These plants have no real need to attract insects or other creatures to pollinate them and therefore tend to not have bright and showy flowers.

The male and female flowers are on the same plant with the male flowers having several long filaments ending in the stamens, and the female flowers having the long feathery stigmas. The pollen of entomophilous flowers, (flowers that need pollinators), have the tendency to be large-grained, rather sticky, and rich in necessary proteins, the anemophilous flower, (flowers that need no pollinators), pollen has tiny grains, is very light, non-sticky, and has little or no nutritional value to insects or other creatures.

Flowers are a beautiful and necessary part of our world. They can calm our minds and sooth our souls in an increasingly hectic age. Plant a garden and enjoy the natural beauty of flowers!

Organic Gardening Articles: http://www.organicgardenarticles.com/

By: Daniel Millions

www.fastflowers.ws Online Florists www.fastflowers.ws Send Flowers to Thailand

Easy To Grow Summer Flowers

Late spring is the perfect time to plant seeds for easy to grow summer flowers. The soil needs to be warm enough for germination and the spring rains will help the seedlings get going.

Summer annual flowers include zinnias, sunflowers, cosmos, petunias, bachelor buttons, balsam, alyssum, marigolds, vinca, poertuluca, lobelia to name just a few.

Flowers need at least six hours of full sun to bloom profusely. In very hot areas such as the Southwest and desert areas, afternoon shade is appreciated.

Prepare the soil by digging down at least six inches. Turn the soil over with a shovel. Add compost or well rotten manure and a time release fertilizer per the package directions. Turn the soil over again to mix in your ingredients.

If your flower bed is up against a wall or fence, plant the tallest flowers in the back, medium tall in the middle and short or spreading flowers in the front. The tall flowers can use the wall to lean on and won't shade the shorter flowers.

If your flower bed is in the middle of the yard, plant the tall flowers in the center, surrounded by medium tall flowers and then ringed by the shorter and spreading flowers.

Throw caution to the wind and plant a splashy mix of all different colors, much like you'd find in a meadow. Or plant in coordinated colors. All pastels are very pretty. Pick a two bright opposing colors like red and blue and fill in with plenty of white. Orange and purple work well too with lots of white or cream. Or pick all shades of the same color like blue and then use a pop of yellow every once in awhile.

Plant seeds three times as closely as the seed package says. That gives you extra seedlings because you'll lose some to the birds and bugs. Cover the seeds as directed and then add a layer of mulch on top. Water thoroughly. Only water when the soil looks dry not on a schedule. Too much water can be as bad for baby plants as not enough water.

After the seeds have sprouted wait until they have at least four true leaves then thin to the desired spacing. Shorter flowers can be spaced to six inches apart. Medium flowers can be 12 inches apart and space tall flowers about 18 inches apart.

One of the nicest things about summer flowers is that the more you pick them for bouquets the longer they'll stay in bloom. The purpose of a flower, from the plant's point of view, is to set seeds. Once that's done the plant will stop blooming. If you remove the flowers the plant will keep on blooming.

After the first rush of blooms cut the flowers back by about half and you should be able to force a second bloom. It won't be quite as extravagant as the first bloom but will still be lovely.

Late spring is the time to plant your summer flower seeds for an extravagant display all summer.

Organic Gardening Articles: http://www.organicgardenarticles.com/

By: Dee Power

Find more tips from Dee Power on growing strawberries at www.easygardencare.com. Dee Power is the author of several nonfiction books. She and her daughter have created www.partyideaskids.com Read her blog at www.cheapweddingideasandtips.blogspot.com

How To Build A Flower Garden

Flower gardening is a very popular hobby, and is getting larger with each new season. There are many ways to get information about this topic, especially for the beginning. Even if you have some experience with gardening, you can find more information on any aspect that you may wish to explore.

One of the main things to keep in mind when starting out is to start small. With a small bed, you may not get overwhelmed. And, once you become more comfortable with gardening, you can expand. You can also start with a variety of plants to see what kind you want to grow. If you start small, this will give you more of a chance to understand gardening as a relaxation and hobby rather than a major chore that must be done.

There are basically two types of gardening methods. The most common being with chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. The other is the use of organic gardening. Organic gardening works to create a natural balance in your flower garden between the plants and the soil. It follows the thought that your garden as a living ecosystem. Following this, it tries to maintain health without the use of harsh and harmful chemicals.

Getting Started With Your Flower Garden

Choosing a proper site for your garden is one of the most important considerations to at this point. The amount of sun your plants will receive is one of the most significant factors to consider. This is because sunlight is one of the key ingredients to growing a healthily garden. An average of six hours of sunlight per day will be great for most plants.

If the area you have to work with gets more sunlight, you should plant flowers that can handle full sun exposure. Another important factor to consider in gardening is the different types of plants. In the case flowers, learn the amount of water, sunlight and soil factors that they need in order to strive.

When you have identified the area, you need to mark out the boundaries with something such as a water hose. Then remove all sod, grass, and weeds from your bed. The flower bed should be turned to a depth of eight to ten inches. And all rocks and debris should be cleared away as well.

After this is completed, you can follow the planting instructions for your plants. With proper 'care and feeding', your plantings will grow into a beautiful flower garden. Bulb flowers can fill your garden with brilliant and beautiful color throughout most of the year. With just a little effort, you can have colorful blooms such as daffodils, iris, tulips, gladiolus, hyacinth, and daylilies.

With a large selection of flowers to choose from, your flower gardening experience can be a fun and enjoyable hobby.

Sustainable Living Articles @ http://www.articlegarden.com

About Dave Owen:
For more information about how to build and nurture your garden, visit My Garden